Page 14 of As Darkness Fall
“Let’s hope that’s true,” I said. “But how used to hearing ‘no’ are you? This Soulbond is telling you that we’re meant to be together. Yet here I am, refusing. Can you tell me there’s no part of you that thinks I’m being silly and you should just keep pushing until I realize it?”
Vir was silent while he considered my words.
The silence stretched on for a long,longtime. Far longer than I expected him to think about it. That gave me hope. Maybe he was taking this seriously, starting to think through the ramifications.
“I think there is some merit in your words,” he said at last, clearly uncomfortable admitting it. “I would never knowingly force you to do something you didn’t want to do. Please know that. But I must consider what thoughts are my own and what are being given to me. I…I am not used to being rejected. There is some anger there, and I must learn to understand that so it does not rule me.”
Breathing out a lungful I hadn’t realized I was holding, I nodded. “Thank you.”
“I will instruct Aaron and the others to ensure distance is kept between us,” he said. “If they must use force to restrain me, then so be it. Until I can be confident that I can control myself, or we figure out how to sever the link, or if you…”
“Vir,” I said, gently cutting him off. We both knew what he was going to say. But I couldn’t let myself consider it. Not now. I didn’t have the energy or mental wherewithal. Too much had happened in too short a period. I needed to rest, recover, and figure out what to do next with everythingbutVir.
Then, maybe I could turn some attention to the idea of being Soulbound to a god. For now, though, I needed my distance.
“Of course,” he said, nodding in understanding. “Where would you like me to go?”
I grimaced, knowing this would hurt him. But it had to be done. “Back,” I said quietly. “You should go back, Vir. To the Direen.”
He shook his head. “I can’t. Not without your help.”
Chapter Eight
“My help? You’re the god here, Vir. How can I possibly help you?
He must have used up more energy than I thought when he created these supplies, because he was speaking nonsense now.
“The energy in the temple,” Vir explained. “If you can awaken it, use it again, then I think I could coach you on how to use it to send me back to the Direen.”
Oh. That again. I should have seen that coming. My brain wasn’t working right just yet, despite the food.
“I already told you, I have no idea howeitherof those things happened or how to do it again, okay? I came through the barrier, but I didn’tdoanything special. It just happened. Same with the temple. It just activated, all on its own.”
“Those are some pretty big coincidences,” Vir pointed out. “I think even you know better.”
“Even if I do, that doesn’t change a thing,” I told him. “Anything that happened was random. Not because of something I did. Maybe it was because ofme, but it’s not something I can force. You’re the one with the energy to summon things out of thin air. Just summon a way to go back home.”
“I’ve tried,” Vir said tautly, looking away. “I’vebeentrying. Constantly. It didn’t respond to me; it was you. You hold the secret, even if you don’t know what it is.”
“Well, that’s just great,” I said. “But I’m not going to let you dissect me to find out. So, if you don’t have any better answers, I need you to leave me alone.”
He started to speak again.
“Otherwise, Aaron will kick your ass,” I added, chiming in first, raising my voice enough this time that the others would hear.
From where Aaron still stood by the food table stuffing his face, I heard a snort of approval.
Vir looked at me, then he sighed and got up, wandering back to the raised platform at the back. He lay upon it and stared at the ceiling. I watched him for a moment, feeling bad for him.
I frowned at that, searching my mind, but no, that wasn’t the Soulbond making me imagine the emotions. I truly did feel sorry for Vir. Inadvertently yanked from his home after a thousand years of defending it from unknown invaders. He had been the last one, the last of the shifter gods after all the others had died in its defense. Now the Direen would likely be lost to the invaders.
No, that wasn’t true. It hadalreadybeen lost. I remembered the blackened landscape, old, desiccated bones covering it in a layer deep enough that it felt like rock crunching under my feet wherever I walked. The ashes of countless dead invaders covered a place that had once been glittering white and rose. It was a paradise, according to Vir, that had welcomed beings from all realms.
That’s what he’d told me, at least, when I’d accidentally stumbled into his realm while fleeing Johnathan.
I again glanced over at my ex. Vir was right that I was the one who had wielded the power in the temple, but each time I’d done something, it had been with him around. Perhaps he was more important than Vir wanted to admit?
Deep in thought, I finished my bread and cheese and lay back on the nearest cot, staring at the ceiling. I opened my eyes in wonder.
